Moving web splicing apparatus



Aug. 27, 1968 R. POUPIN 3,398,911

MOVING WEB SPLICING APPARATUS Filed April 11, 1966 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.1

INVEWTOR R 3y no A Pom e m B Ewan-ow QEEVTOW A'Homxayg Aug. 27, 1968 R. POUPIN 3,398,911

MOVING WEB SPLICING APPARATUS Filed April 11, 1966 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.2

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MOVING WEB SPLICING APPARATUS Filed April 11, 1966 '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig.4

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NOVINGWEB SPLICING APPARATUS I Filed April 11, 1966 7 Shts-Shet 5 Fig.5

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MOVING WEB SPLICING APPARATUS Filed April 11, 1966 7 SheetsrSheet 6 Fig.6

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MOVING WEB SPLICING APPARATUS Filed April 11, 1966 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 Fig. 7

United States Patent 3,398,911 MOVING WEB SPLICING APPARATUS Raymond Poupin, Fleury-les-Aubrais, France, assignor to Service dExploitation Industrielle des Tabacs et des Allumettes, Paris, France, a French public establishment Filed Apr. 11, 1966, Ser. No. 541,828 Claims priority, application France, Apr. 9, 1965,

2,645 9 Claims. (Cl. 24258.4)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device for splicing the end of the web of an expiring roll to the starting end of the web of a new roll while the webs are moving. Two pulleys for holding the starting end of the new roll and a pivoting pressure roller between the pulleys, a coupling on the pulleys for driving them so that they serve also for setting the new web in motion while the expiring web is running, and further guiding the moving web.

This invention relates to a device for joining sheets of a material which is delivered from bobbins or reels for subsequent feeding to a machine without entatiling the need to stop said machine. The invention is mainly directed to a machine for forming cigarettes from a continuous rod and supplied with a continuous strip of Wrapping paper or like material, wherein the fresh bobbin or reel of sheet material is joined to the moving sheet as this latter is delivered from a feed bobbin.

It is known to mount two stationary feed bobbins and to put them in service in alternate sequence, the beginning of the new bobbin being joined to the end of the empty bobbin. It is also known to allow the end of the sheet or strip of the new bobbin to rest in readiness on a pulley, whilst a second pulley which will perform the same function during the'following operation is employed during this time for the purpose of guiding the sheet which is in process of delivery.

In order to prevent any danger of breaks in the material, the initial feed motion or so-called starting of the fresh sheet or strip must be carried out with a constant acceleration which is sufiicient to ensure that the new bobbin is driven in rotation at a speed which is close to that of the previous bobbin.

In known systems, the initial feed motion or starting is carried out either in traction as a result of close contact between the two strips or as a result of friction exerted on the bobbin itself. These modes of operation meet practical requirements only to an inadequate extent, more especially when the strips employed consist of thin material which does not have high resistance to traction, or tensile strength.

It is also known to join the two strips by causing them to pass together between a knurled roller and a flexible backing roller, both rollers being positively driven and controlled in such manner as to bring the rollers close together at the moment of double transfer of the strips during the time which is necessary for the joining operation.

All the systems referred to above comprise a cutting unit for separating the abandoned portion of the previous strip upstream of the junction point.

All the moving parts are usually set in motion mechanically by means of a unit for monitoring the strip which is in service when this latter has reached a reserve which is small as possible and having a predetermined value. In certain designs, the moving parts are set in motion by means of pulses produced by electric cells.

The present invention relates to a system of this type "ice for joining a new roll of sheet material wound on a bobbin to a moving sheet which is being delivered from a feed bobbin, said system being controlled by a pulse as a function of the extent of unwinding of said moving sheet but so designed as to form a uniform assembly which can-be transferred as a complete unit from one machine to the other and needs only to be coupled therewith by means of support members and connected to the control units and, if necessary to the general controls of the machine.

To this end, the device in accordance with the invention which is of the type comprising two stationary bobbin supports, pulleys or rollers having stationary axes and over which are conveyed respectively the strips fed from both bobbins, one of said strips being an unused strip and in readiness for winding-off and the other strip being in process of winding-off, means for cooperating in alternate sequence with either one or the other of said pulleys, so as to hold the end of the stand-by strip, means for cooperating with said pulleys in alternate sequence so as to exert a tractive effort on the end of the stand-by strip and thus to effect the starting of said strip, means for joining the two strips together and means for cutting one of said two strips in alternate sequence, said device being further characterized in that the two holding and starting pulleys are mounted in adjacent relation and located upstream of the joining means or in other words between said joining means and the bobbins, said pulleys being so designed that each pulley serves alternately after starting and joining as a guide member for the purpose of guiding the strip which is in process of winding-off.

In a particularly advantageous form of embodiment, the two holding pulleys are mounted to rotate freely and are associated with means for setting said pulleys in rotation in the opposite direction, and a pressure roller is mounted to rotate freely on a shaft which is located between the two pulleys and which is adapted to pivot in such a manner as to apply said roller against either one or the other of said pulleys and thus to ensure both the holding of the strip and the initial feed motion of the stand-by strip on the pulley against which the pressure roller is applied.

The system in accordance with the invention makes it possible to adopt a perfectly symmetrical arrangement which is both readily accessible and easy to put into operation, wherein the joining means can be located at the apex of an isosceles triangle, the base of which is formed by the two holding and starting pulleys, the axis of the pressure roller being movable on each side of the plane of symmetry which passes through the apex of said triangle.

The joining means can consist of a knurled roller which is freely rotatable and flexible backing roller which is also freely rotatable, said rollers being so disposed relatively to each other that both rollers rotate continuously under the action of themoving strip and are capable of being applied against each other with a sufficient pressure by means of a control unit, for example under the action of the time-control pulse which is produced by the control unit.

Provision can be made for means which guide the strips between the holding and starting pulleys and the joining means and which can consist 'of a passageway so shaped as to converge from the pulleys towards the joining means and comprising a central dividing wall so arranged that the passageways thus formed ensure a rectilineal path of progression of the strips.

The cutting means are preferably mounted upstream of the holding and starting pulleys, that is to say between these latter and the bobbins, and they can consist of a single pivotally mounted knife, ledger-plate blocks which can be placed on the path of both strips and against which the single knife can be pivotally brought to bear in alternate sequence.

Said single knife can consist of two parallel cutting blades disposed on each side of a spacer member which is rigidly fixed to the blade-holder block.

One form of embodiment of the device in accordance with the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings which are given solely by way of example and not in any sense by way of limitation, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a general diagram in side elevation;

FIG. 2 is a partial view on a larger scale of the assembly which is shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a detail view in plan and in partial cross-section along the line ee' of FIG. 2; I

FIG. 4 is a detail view in perspective showing that portion of the device which is located between the two chaindotted lines A and B and which is designated by the reference 4 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a detail view in perspective showing the cutting units which are located below the chain-dotted line B in FIG. 1 and which are designated by the reference 6 in that figure;

FIG. 6 is an electrical diagram of the circuit for controlling the difierent elements of the device; and

FIG. 7 is an electrical diagram of the safety and indicating circuits.

The device which is illustrated is intended to effect the starting, joining and cutting of the paper strip which is wound on bobbins 36 and 37, said bobbins being carried respectively by spindles 1 and 2. In the drawings, the bobbin 36 is shown as being in service and the bobbin 37 is in readiness. Against these bobbins are applied the brakes 38 and 39 which are fitted with balance weights 40 and 41 so designed as to actuate micro-switches 42 and 43. The complete device forms an independent unit and is mounted on a base-plate 3.

The device is divided into three sub-assemblies which are separated in FIG. 1 by two chain-dotted lines A and B, namely the starting sub-assembly 4, the joining subassembly 5 and the cutting sub-assembly 6.

The starting sub-assembly 4 (as shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4) is composed of a motor 7 and clutch unit 8 for driving in alternate sequence the hubs of the rollers 9 and 10 in the respective directions of the arrows f (as shown in FIG. 1) by means :of free wheels mounted inside said rollers so as to provide a coupling between the hubs and the external ring-gears.

An elbowed lever 11 is pivoted about the axis a-a' (as shown in FIG. 4) by virtue of a crank-pin 70 which is rotatably mounted in a bearing of the base-plate 3. The top end of said lever which is located at the rear is coupled by means of a double yoke to two electromagnets 13 and 14. The lower end of said lever which is located in front is fitted with a rubber roller 12 which is mounted to rotate freely on its spindle and placed in contact alternately with the rollers 9 and 10.

The joining sub-assembly consists of a stationary support 15, a knurled roller 16 which is mounted to rotate freely on said support and pivotally mounted lever 17. Said lever is fitted at one end with a plastic-covered backing roller 18 which is also mounted to rotate freely on its spindle and at the other end with a ball-bearing 19 which is maintained in contact with the cam 20. Said cam is actuated by the electromagnet 21 which is secured to the base-plate by means of a support 22 in slightly oscillating relation thereto in order that the core of the electromagnet should always be centered within the coil.

An upward-motion passageway is placed between the starter unit 'and the joining unit. Said passageway has a central dividing wall 33 and forms two guides 34 and 35 which convey the moving sheets up to the joining rollers. This arrangement makes it possible to prevent the action of electrostatic charges which might otherwise cause the free end of the strip to adhere to one of the walls of a single passageway.

The cutting sub-assembly 6 (as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5) consists .of the support 23 of the electromagnet 24 which is of the thrust type and pivoted about the axis bb' (as shown in FIG. 5), knives 25 which are fixed to the moving core of the electromagnet 24 by means of a spacer member 26, two symmetrical blocks 27 and 28 which support the ledger-plates 29 and 30, the arm 31 which is placed behind the base-plate 3 and rigidly fixed to the pivotal support 23 so as to provide a moving point of attachment for one end of the spring 32, the other end of which is attached at 46 to the base plate 3. This mode of assembly ensures correct pressure between the knife and ledger-plate and additionally prevents the pivotal assembly from taking up positions other than the stable positions which correspond to the work positions of the knives. Moreover, a micro-switch which is not shown in the drawings and which is also located behind the baseplate makes it possible to reverse an electric drive when the knife takes up either of its two positions.

Finally, the unit for detecting the level of paper on the bobbins is constituted by the brakes 38 and 39 which are continuously in contact with the paper. The free end of the rod of the balance weights 40 and 41 actuates at the end of travel the micro-switches 42 and 43 which close the general control circuit.

The control circuit referred to comprises one power relay per controlled unit (motor, clutch unit, electromagnets) and four time-controlled elements 47, 48, 49 and 51 which are intended to displace in time the action of a certain number of the said controlled units.

The base-plate of the device additionally carries the two guide rollers 44 and which are equidistant from the cutter block.

The complete assembly of safety circuits and circuits for indicating errors of operation or incomplete operations, as shown in FIG. 7, is controlled by the bobbin-level detector, namely by the brakes 38 and 39 which, depending on their positions, accordingly actuate the different contacts.

The said contacts are symmetrical in the case of each brake and are arranged as follows in the case of the brake 39:

(1) The contacts 52 and 53, which are in the closed position when the brake 39 has been placed against the new bobbin 37 and in the open position when the brake 39 has not been applied against said bobbin 37 as a result of an oversight.

(2) The contacts 54 and 55, as shown in FIG. 7, in which the contact 54 is closed as long as the bobbin is not empty, whereas the contact 55 is open in the same condition. The contacts are reversed as soon as the strip level on the bobbin reaches an insufiicient value.

So far as concerns the brake 38 and its bobbin 36, the corresponding contacts are the contacts 56 and 57 on the one hand and the contacts 58 and 59 on the other hand.

The set of contacts 54 and 55 constitutes the control unit 43 of FIG. 6, and the set of contacts 58 and 59 constitutes the control unit 42 of FIG. 6. I

The control operation which is performed 'by means of the system 42-43 is obtained as a result of the closure of the contact 55 or of the contact 59 whilst the respective contacts 54 and 58 in that case open.

The relay 60 can be energized either by the contact 54 or by the contact 58, in which case the contact 62 is opened and the visual indicator 67 is not lighted up, the contact 61 being closed. Said contact 61 produces the stoppage of the machine when in the open position.

The contact 50 is normally in the open position and closes only for a brief moment on completion of the joining operation.

The relay 63 is intended to be self-supplied until the moment when the brake of the completely unwound bobbin has been lifted.

The device which is illustrated operates as follows:

The paper strip of the bobbin 37 is placed in the standby position with the brake 39 in contact with the paper.

The free end of the strip which is passed beneath the roller 45 is lightly clamped between the rollers 9 and 12 by virtue of the low voltage of the starter electromagnet 14.

The paper strip of the bobbin 36 is in service; it passes successively over the rollers 44, and 16 and continues on its route through the machine.

The freely mounted starter roller 10 defines with the roller 44 a stable path which passes through the ledgerplate 29 and in front of the knives 25. Theroller 18 of the joining unit is caused to rotate as a result of light frictional contact of the paper strip.

When the bobbin 36 approaches its end, the brake 38 which is still in contact with the paper has fallen lower and the end of the balance weight 40 reaches the microswitch 42, thus actuating this latter.

At this moment, a pulse is delivered by one of the contacts 42-43. In accordance with FIG. 6, the starter motor 7 is set in motion and one of the starter electromagnets 1314 is supplied with normal voltage, with the result that the rollers 9 and 12 exert a more powerful clamping action on the paper strip.

After a certain time which permits the motor 7 to run up to its normal speed by virtue of a timing relay 47, the clutch unit 8 of the starter is operated in such a manner that the roller 9 begins to rotate and conveys the stand-by strip through the upward-motion passageway 35 towards the rollers 16 and 18 of the joining unit.

The rate of unwinding of the bobbin 37 increases progressively.

At the end of a further time delay which is obtained as a result of the action of the timing relay 48, the strip-cutting electromagnet 24 is supplied with current; the knife 25 which is thrust forward slides rapidly over the ledgerplate 29 and cuts off the old strip.

Another timing relay 49 serves to energize the electromagnet 21 of the joining unit so as to actuate the cam 20 which accordingly moves and bears on the ball-bearing 19 of the lever 17 which performs a pivotal motion and brings the backing roller 18 into closer contact with the knurled roller 16. The new strip which has reached this level is joined to the old strip as a result of the effect of a plurality of junction points.

After a further time-delay produced by a timing relay 51, the different elements receive a pulse via the contact 50 which causes said elements to return to the position which they had previously occupied.

Thereupon, the operator must remove the empty bobbin 36 and replace this latter by a fresh bob-bin without omitting to place the brake 38 in contact with the paper. The operator then inserts the end of the new bobbin beneath the roller 44, through the ledger-plate 29 and beneath the roller 10, then causes the cutter block to perform a pivotal motion so as to bring it into position ded (as shown in FIG. 1). The reversing micro-switch which is located behind the cutter block cuts off the lowvoltage supply to the electromagnet 14 and supplies current to the electromagnet 13 at the same voltage; the lever 11 then pivots andt he roller 12 accordingly maintains the new paper strip applied against the roller 10.

It is then advisable to remove the portion of paper strip which may project downstream of said two rollers.

The operation of the safety circuit is as follows:

When the machine manufactures cigarettes in accordance with FIG. 1, the contacts 55 and 59 are open and the contacts 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 58 are closed. The relay 60 which is then energized closes the circuit 61 for stopping the machine and Opens the circuit 62 of the visual indicator '67.

The relay 63 which is in the rest position opens the contacts 64 and 65 and closes the contact 66.

When the reserve of paper of the bobbin 36 becomes insufi'icient, the contact 58 opens (and the coil of relay 60 can be energized only by way of the contacts 53, 54)

and the contact 59 closes, thus effecting the different joining operations by way of the contacts 57, 59, 66.

At the end of the cycle, the switch unit 50 momentarily energizes the relay 63 which is self-supplied via the contacts 64, 52, 56 and opens the contacts 66, thereby preventing the initiation of another joining cycle and closes the contact 65 which warns the operator by means of the visual indicator that a bobbin has to be changed.

(a) The operator omits to change ant empty bobbin 36 In this case, since the relay 63 remains energized and the contact 66 remains open, it is no longer possible to operate the joining unit. Moreover, when the bobbin 37 has also been completely unwound, the contact 54 opens and cuts off the supply to the relay 60; the machine is accordingly broughtto. a stop by means of the contact 61 and the operator is informed of this stoppage by the visual indicator 67 which is energized by means of the contact 62.

(b) The operator omits to apply the brake 38 against the 1 a new bobbin 36 In this case, the contacts 56 and 57 which are open cut off the self-supply of the relay 63 which accordingly closes the contact 66 but opens one of the supply branches of the relay 60.

As soon as the bobbin 37 is unwound, the contact 54 opens the other branch and the relay 60 is deenergized, thus stopping the machine by opening the contact 61 and delivering a warning by means of the indicators 62-67.

It will be readily understood that the invention is not limited to the constructional details which have been illustrated -or described herein solely by way of example. Accordingly, it follows in particular that the rollers 9 and 10 can be driven directly from the machine to which the paper strip is conveyed, in which case the motor 7 is dispensed with and constant acceleration is obtained by such means as a friction coupling or powder-type electromagnetic coupler, that the roller 12 could be coupled directly to the control units 13 and 14 and move between the members 9 and 10 within a suitably disposed elongated slot.

What I claim is:

1. A device for joining a new web of sheet material wound on a reel to a moving web which is being unwound from a feed reel, particularly for joining of sheets of a wrapping material in machines for forming cigarettes from a continuous rod of tobacco; comprising two stationary reel supports, means joining said two webs together, means for cutting one of said two webs in alternate sequence, two pulleys mounted in adjacent relation to one another and located upstream of said joining means between said joining means and said reels, said joining means cooperating in alternate sequence with either one or the other of said pulleys for holding the end of said new web when said other web is in the process of unwinding, and for exerting a tractive effort on said new end thereby effecting the starting of said new web, each of said pulleys being constructed for serving alternately after starting and joining of said webs as a guide member for guiding the web which is then actually unwinding.

2. A device according to claim 1, said joining means comprising a freely rotatable knurled roller, a freely rotatable flexible backing roller, and a control unit, said rollers being disposed relatively to each other in such manner that both rollers rotate continuously under the action of said moving web and are capable of being applied against each other with a sutficient pressure applied by said control unit.

3. A device according to claim 1 further comprising means for guiding said webs between said holding and starting pulleys and said joining means.

4. A device according to claim 1 said cutting means comprising a single pivotally mounted knife, said cutting means being mounted upstream of said holding and starting pulleys between said pulleys and said reels.

5. A device according to claim 1 said two holding pulleys being mounted to rotate freely, means associated with said pulley for setting said pulleys in rotation in opposite directions, and a pressure roller mounted to rotate freely on a shaft which is located between said two pulleys and which is adapted to pivot in such a manner as to apply said roller against either one or the other of said pulleys for'both the holding of said new web and the initial feed motion of said new web on the pulley against which said pressure roller is applied. V I

6. A device according to claim 5, said joining means being located at the apex of an isosceles triangle, the base of which being formed by said two holding and starting pulleys, the axis of said pressure roller being movable on each side of the plane of symmetry which passes through said apex of said triangle.

7. A device according to claim 3, said guiding means comprising a passageway converging from said pulleys towards said joining means and a central dividing wall in said passageway for forming a rectilineal path of progression of said webs in said divided passageway.

- 8. A device according to claim 4, and ledger-plate blocks placed on the path of both webs and said single knife being pivotally mounted to bear on said blocks in alternate sequence.

9. A device according to claim 8, said single knife comprising two parallel cutting blades, a spacer member between said blades and a blade-holder block for rigidly holding said spacer..

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,061,220 10/1962 Gagg et al. 242 ss.4 3,072,354 1/1963 Giles et al 242-584 3,089,661 5/1963 Phillips at al. 242 ss.4

LEONARD D. CHRISTIAN, Primary Examiner. 

